Monday, December 20, 2010

Tiramisu

Again, this was a "dish" (if I may) that I only ate in the past. My cousins always made it, but I never attempted to make this on my own. As always I was kinda nervous because I was expecting culinary professionals to sample my very own, Tiramisu. 

If any Italians see this post, they might put a hit out on my head because the original recipe calls for Lady Fingers and Mascarpone cheese and of course I didn't follow the rules. I used vanilla cake and cream cheese, not because I was stubborn, but because in my area of Brooklyn, those ingredients were kinda difficult to find. 

Both eager and nervous, I started the process a day before I was originally scheduled to do it. I'm not the best baker out there, so I decided to use the Betty Crocker vanilla cake, where I just had to add water, vegetable oil and eggs. When it was finished baking, I let it cool and then cut it lenghtways. This was the first time I also made whip cream from scratch, by hand to! When I was finished making my filling, I found it to be a tad bit too thin but had a PERFECT coffee taste, so I decided to leave it as it was. I then covered it and placed it in the refrigerator. After about 10 hours, it still didn't set the way I wanted it to, maybe because the filling wasn't as thick as it should have been, so I put it into the freezer for a couple more hours. An hour or 2 before serving, I transferred the Tiramisu back into the refrigerator, so that it wouldn't be rock solid when it was time to serve. To some this may not be considered the traditional Tiramisu but it's MY version and i'm standing behind it 100 percent.  

I have already gotten great feedback on my "First Time Ever Tiramisu", so I'm happy and proud about that. I'm just waiting to hear from the remaining Taste Testers. I'm pleased with the way it came out and I'm hoping those who tasted it will think so too!


RECIPE

Cream Cheese – 8oz box at room temp
Sugar – 6 Tbsp (divided)
Whipped Cream – 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream plus 1 Tbsp Sugar whipped to 1 1/2 cups (1 1/2 cups of Cool Whip may be used as an instant alternative)
Egg Yolks – 3
5 Tbsp of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Strong Coffee – 1 cup (or as needed) mixed with 5 Tbsp Rum, I used Malibu (That's all I had)
Vanilla Box Cake


METHOD

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix softened Cream Cheese with 3 Tbsp of sugar until sugar is completely dissolved.
2. In a separate bowl, mix 3 egg yolks with remaining 3 Tbsp of sugar and whisk continuously in a double boiler until eggs are cooked (approx 1-2 minutes). The color of the yolks will turn a lemon yellow when done.
3. Immediately mix the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture and stir well.
4. Add 2-3 Tbsp of the coffee and Sweetened Condensed Milk into the mixture and mix well.
5. Whip Heavy Whipping Cream and 1 Tbsp Sugar in a bowl over ice until fluffy. Fold Whipped Cream into cream cheese/egg mixture until well incorporated.
6. Bake cake per package directions.
7. After cake has cooled, flip baking pan over on a flat dish or work surface.
8. Using a long bread knife, cut the cake in half horizontally, creating two thin layers of cake.
9. Carefully place the top layer back into the baking pan.
10. Using a pastry brush, dab coffee onto the cake. More coffee may be required to soak the cake.
11. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese filling onto the cake and dust with cocoa powder.
12. Carefully place the second layer of cake on top of the filling.
13. Dab more coffee onto the cake.
14. Spread remaining filling evenly and dust with cocoa creating an even layer.
15. Cover and chill in freezer  overnight.
16. Transfer to Refrigerator an hour or 2 before serving. 


                                                                         Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake


                                                    Finished Baking


                                                      Finished Baking from a different angle


                                                     Before going into the Freezer


                                                       My version of Tiramisu

4 comments:

  1. Looks like it....can you please do a top shot pic....i wanna see the top of the cake. And as an italian my mum after reading said she has to try it your way because she says those ingredients are key to its taste. Anyways great try!!!!

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  2. I'm Italian & horrified at the ingredients used LOL.

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  3. Top Chef or Next Great Baker..You choose the show lol...
    The "cake" was DELICIOUS!! I'll have to admit, I didn't know what to expect, but after taking my first bite, I was in love! I'm usually not a fan of coffee tasting cakes, but with the whip cream and vanilla cake, it was perfect! I had to let it sit for a while because it was freezing cold when I went to pick it up but when it got to room temperature, it was all good! Picky, I give it a 9 out of 10. My cuz gives it the same! No exaggerating!!! It was a great pick- me-up! Well done!

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  4. Tasted this dessert and gives it a 7 for the ingredients. The cake could have been from scatch at least and have more cream filling.

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